Italia - Day Six

We woke at 9am to the sound of torrential downpour – ugh. By 11am it had cleared up enough that we headed out for our day but took Metro from Termini to Octavvio and picked up my glasses (LOVE them)!! Then, through the pouring rain with all the other tourists with umbrellas, we set off to the Vatican. Michele was slipping so much in her flip flops that she started walking with bare feet through the rain on the cobblestones. When we got there, there were thousands of umbrellas and people standing in line. We decided it wasn’t worth going inside due to how packed it would be and how long we’d have to stand in line. After capturing a few photos and reminiscing about the movie last night, we headed to Castel d’Sant Angelo (which is the castle of the angels) and another spot from the movie. We had been there at night and I have to say that it was much more spectacular in the dark with all the lights. Just as the Vatican was so interesting because there were no tourists and it was all lit up.

Next, we moved onto Piazza Navona and although we had great pictures from our first night here, I felt the need to get a picture of me giving one of the statues in the fountain a high five. We walked toward the Pantheon (which is around the corner from Navona) again. Both of these places were also in the movie last night. The Pantheon is gorgeous inside, probably would have been a lot better if it had been sunny but after seeing Tom Hanks inside of it the night before, it felt more interesting. I hadn’t realized that it was a church, but here everything seems to be a church of some sort. We had lunch looking at the Pantheon and enjoyed watching tourists from all over the world. I love how in Rome you can walk down an alley and find yourself at ancient ruins amidst the city. You can see how the city was built up around it but I wonder what it looked like before all the buildings.

Addendum:

Michele and I went to Termini to get our tickets for tomorrow’s flight and then went to chill out waiting for 2 hours for Night at the Museum 2 to start. We laughed hysterically (well, ok, I’m a kid with movies like that) and headed for Cotto. As we walked in, we felt like regulars and were treated like queens. We got pictures with the guys that waited on us all week, they served us a free little cocktail and the peanuts/chips/olives from last time and we sat in the little waiting area relaxing before dinner. Our dinner was incredible – as usual. Michele got the pasta with seafood and I got the Deliziosa again along with a bottle of their house wine. When we were finished, we both got dessert – Michele with chocolate mousse (which was a flourless chocolate cake) and I got vaniglia truffle ice cream… the mix of the two was heaven. The waiters were ridiculously sweet and so helpful – even asking that we send them the picture of all of us to them for posterity. Such a perfect way to end our trip to Roma. I wish there was a place like that in the States.

I feel so relaxed and ready to come home and hit the ground running. Ready for whatever God has decided to give me. The path that he has paved for me has become much clearer throughout this entire trip. I’ll definitely write more in the next week about the God part but this has been an incredible end to our vacation – a true vacation. Now we’re jamming to Jamiroquai and I’m finally finishing my blog! Bless you for spending this time reading about my adventures and growth. Be home soon.

Check out the photo album of our highlights